The Lost Seas

Finding the Place of Forgetting

The Place of Forgetting 2 (revised Marauders of the Dune Sea)

16

NOV/11

Recorded by scholars studying the life of Bost.

On 7 Sorrow, the group of adventurers arrives in Bellinga, the home village of Felix. Hoping to find the whereabouts of Felix and his copper-hilted sword, the group questions a number of farmers. The farmers explained the little that they knew about Felix: Felix is a young man who primarily makes his living as a farmer. He lives with his family, and has a local sweetheart named Elissa. Recently, a rock-slide on his farm unearthed a number of relics from a long-forgotten era. Felix had traveled to Tyr, hoping to profit from this discovery. Unfortunately, the farmers did not know his current location.

The adventurers continued their investigation by searching for Elissa. With the farmers’ help, the adventurers easily located her residence. After the group convinced Elissa’s mother that they meant no harm, Elissa appeared and consented to speak about Felix. According to Elissa, Felix recently appeared at their home and requested sanctuary. Felix explained to Elissa that while he was visiting Tyr, he was accosted by a number of thugs. Normally somewhat timid, Felix was surprised when he felt violent rage take hold of him, as he greedily slew his attackers. Somehow, Felix knew that the mysterious sword in his possession was responsible. Alarmed, he fled Tyr and returned to Bellinga, with the goal of purging himself of the cursed sword at a place called The Place of Forgetting.

When asked to describe The Place of Forgetting, Elissa responded with the little she knew. The Place of Forgetting is a mystical site, located in the vicinity of Bellinga “where the breath of the Dragon scours the black earth.” While it was once a temple dedicated to some ancient, forgotten power, it is now a site where people go in order to be purged of painful memories.

Elissa’s knowledge of the site was primarily expressed through the fable of Junius and Crespa. In this tale, a bereaved husband travels to the Place of Forgetting to relieve himself of the memories of his recently departed wife. The exact meaning of this legend, if any, is still to be uncovered by the adventurers.

The adventurers promised to help Elissa find Felix, and Elissa and her family reciprocated by offering lodging for the night. Thankful for their hospitality, Dazeel put on a puppet show unlike any that the family has ever seen.

Early in the morning of 8 Sorrow, the adventurers set out to find the Place of Forgetting. With the only clue being that it was located nearby “where the breath of the Dragon scours the black earth”, the adventurers attempted to use what they knew about nature and history to intuit and perceive the correct location. Unfortunately, the adventurers were stumped.

As they wandered the hilly region, the adventurers spotted a band of humans and tareks approaching in the distance. Some of the humans appeared to be bound in captivity. The adventurers quickly took cover on the incline of a hill. As they debated whether or not to attack these apparent slavers, Bost, the ungraceful mul, inadvertently alerted the slavers to their presence in an attempt to spy on them further.

Thinking quickly, and possibly foolishly, the party called out to the slavers and identified themselves as part of the Crimson Legion. Alarmed and confused, the tarek minions looked to their leaders. Oddly, the two humans in raider garb, upon hearing that the adventurers were supposedly from the Crimson Legion, merely snorted and began to bark orders to the tareks. The slavers flanked the adventurers, and closed in to attack. Initially, it did not go well. Birel Windchaser was violently assaulted and entered a state of shock, where she became perilously close to death. But the adventurers rallied. Dazeel deftly maneuvered herself to the peripheries of the battlefield, as she sliced opponent after opponent with her chatkcha. Zuri utilized the powers of chaos to the slavers’ horrifying detriment and Vilsis’ arrows rained death as the eladrin dexterously commanded the battlefield. Bost tenaciously stood his ground, guided by a sense of vengeance once he recognized the slavers as belonging to the same group that once enslaved himself and his family. With a will to live only found on Athas, Birel miraculously recovered and rejoined the fight. The adventurers’ victory became certain, and the slavers’ minions fled as they witnessed the deaths of their employers.

Once they prevailed, the adventurers helped the slaves free themselves. Thankful, the slaves assisted the adventurers in finding the Place of Forgetting. While their knowledge was as unsophisticated as Elissa’s, they were able to provide enough assistance that the party felt confident in continuing their search. After some exploring, the party found a patch of sand contrasting with a black stone hill. From there, they saw an odd site in the distance: a violent sandstorm that seemed to be confined to a small area at the base of a cliff. The adventurers steeled themselves as they prepared to embark into this dusty unknown.